ATLANTA – With an eight-match win streak in hand and a number one regional ranking, the Georgia Tech volleyball team (17-4, 7-1) returns to action this weekend hosting Wake Forest (13-6, 4-4) at 7 p.m. on Friday and Duke (15-7, 4-4) at 7 p.m. on Saturday in O’Keefe Gymnasium.
The Yellow Jackets currently are tied for first place in the conference at the mid-way point with North Carolina (17-4, 7-1), after the Tar Heels fell to Wake Forest in a five-game match this past weekend. The 7-1 conference record marks the best start the Jackets have had since joining the ACC in 1982, and the team is ranked first in the east region, for the first time since 1996.
“I’m very pleased to be sitting at 7-1 and I am pleased we are in an excellent position to win the regular season and in a good position to earn a good seed in the conference tournament,” said head coach Shelton Collier. “I also believe we have probably clinched the opportunity to participate in this year’s NCAA Tournament, and that is something that we have not been a part of the last few years.”
Friday night at 7 p.m.Tech will play host to Wake Forest which has won its last two matches, including an upset over North Carolina last weekend. The two teams met earlier this season in Winston-Salem, NC, with the Jackets winning in three games, 15-6, 15-8, 15-10. Teryl Townsend and Eida Mabry led Tech in kills in the match as they each recorded 17, while Kele Eveland dished out 47 assists.
“Wake Forest is coming off a win over first-place North Carolina, and are probably playing their best volleyball of the season right now,” said Collier. “I would imagine they will come into our gym with a lot of confidence and a lot of optimism, so I expect a great match with them Friday night.
“I was very pleased with our performance against them earlier in the season in their home gym. That was a great step for our program, but I think Friday night they are going to be coming in motivated to play as well.”
The Jackets will conclude their homestand with Duke at 7 p.m., on Saturday. The Blue Devils enter the match on a two-match slide, having dropped matches to NC State and North Carolina last weekend. In the year’s previous meeting, Tech defeated Duke in three games, 15-6, 15-4, 15-7. Bell led the Jackets in kills with 11 and five blocks while Eveland added 12 digs and 36 assists.
“Duke seems to be one of the more talented teams in the league,” said Collier. “On some nights they have played very well, and on other nights, they have struggled.”
“We are expecting a great match from them on Saturday night, and similar to Wake Forest we are very happy that we were able to go to Cameron Indoor Stadium and play one of our best matches of the year and win 3-0 on their home court. That will likely provide them with some motivation in coming to Atlanta. We expect them to play well, and we expect that we are going to need to play well to win the match.”
Tech has been led by numerous players this season, each of whom has shined at various points in the year. This past weekend, Maja Pachale dominated as she averaged 6.38 kills and 2.75 digs per game. Against Florida State, Pachale recorded a season-high 29 kills on just 49 attempts. In addition, Bell continues to play well as she currently leads the team in kills per game (4.09) and blocks per game (1.11). Eveland continues to run the offense for the Jackets, pacing the team with a league-leading 12.76 assists per game.
“Our team feels good because we have had success and that has given us the opportunity to make improvements in our overall play,” said Collier. “We are looking forward to the second half of our conference season, but we are also very pleased with where we are right now.”
